Norway to give ticket sales from Israel qualifier to MSF
OSLO: Ticket sales from Norway’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Israel will go to medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to help it alleviate “humanitarian suffering” in Gaza, Norway’s football association said on Monday. The October 11 match in Oslo “will be played against the backdrop of grave humanitarian suffering, and we are not and can not remain indifferent to this,” the head of the Norwegian football association, Lisa Klaveness, told reporters at a press conference. “We think it is entirely justified to give the ticket sales to Doctors Without Borders, which is providing concrete, emergency aid on the ground in Gaza,” she said. Klaveness criticized the “disproportionate attacks targeting Gaza for far too long.” The match will be played in a sold-out Ullevaal Stadium, which has the capacity to host a little over 27,000 spectators. “We are moved to see donors willing to make such a significant contribution to support our colleagues plunged into a brutal and desperate situation in Gaza, where they need all possible support, both financial and moral,” said Lindis Hurum, the secretary general of the Norwegian branch of Doctors Without Borders. Norway tops Group 1 with five victories in five matches, ahead of Italy and Israel. In their away match played on neutral ground in Debrecen on March 25, Norway beat Israel 4-2.